All Senior Staff are hereby requested and required to report to the Deck One Briefing room no later than 0900 on this day. As ordered by Captain Calvin Rhodes.

The text message was sent to the staff that was already aboard, and now all Calvin could do was wait. He was almost giddy that they were this close to departure. He knew some of the staff would share in his excitement, and other wouldn't. That was okay, because regardless, this was Cal's ticket out.

Raising an eyebrow as he read the announcement Syrrik looked down at his plate as he sat in his quarters. He finished his light breakfast and his tea. Putting the plate and glass back in the replicator to be recycled he took a quick shower and got into uniform. Walking down the hall from his quarters towards the turbolift he looked around. The ship still didn't seem to be quite full though he had no doubts that would be fixed with time.

He stepped into the turbolift. "Deck one." He waited for a few moments as his thoughts wandered. The lift stopped and the doors opened. He stepped out and headed towards the briefing room. Walking into the room he nodded to Cal. "Good morning Captain." He took his seat at the table to Cal's right side. In his mind the XO was the captain's right hand.

Cal nodded to the Vulcan commander as he sat. "Good morning Commander." he said, with a slight smile. "We'll need to discuss some arrangements for the arival of the Federation Delegation tomorrow."

Syrrik raised an eyebrow but nodded. "A delegation, am I to assume we are being called on to achieve some sort of diplomatic purpose then?"

Cal smiled coyly but remained silent.

The door opened again as the Andorian engineer stepped into the room. " Good morning everyone." she said smiling politely she took her seat.

Koenig summoned his replacement at Ops. When they came, he logged out, picked up his PADD, walked over and entered the briefing room. As he maneuvered to a chair, he politely nodded at everyone there.

The Captain nodded to the Ensign as he watched him take a seat.

Sephora had just arrived at the Diplomatic office when the call went out for the senior staff. She waited a few moments for anyone to step out of their office, but none did, so she reached out with her mind and sensed no one in the immediate area.

She let out a girlish squeal of excitement and practically ran out of the office.

A few seconds later, she returned, grabbed a PADD and then started making her way to the briefing room.

Calvin watched as the doors parted letting a young female Ensign in Diplomatic purple into the room.

Sephora nodded at the captain as she took a seat that gave her a view of the space they were about to journey into.

"Sir, Diplomatic Section reporting," she said. "There was no one present in the office when the call came down, so I took the liberty of filling in."

Cal couldn't suppress his grin. He was impressed by her eagerness and initiative.

She looked over at the rest of the staff.

"Hello, I'm Ensign Sephora Berel" she said cheerfully. "I look forward to serving with you all."

She then activated her PADD and prepared to take notes.

John watched the Ensign walk in..hoping she would sit by him. He smiled at her when she looked at him.

Syrrik looked up from his PaDD. He had made sure to get everything in order to keep for his notes. With the Captain's previous words to him he was sure this was going to be a rather delicate mission. The Federation did not put together a full delegation for trading routes or any such mundane things. This was likely to be very interesting indeed.

He looked over and nodded to the two Ensigns that had come in. "Good morning Ensigns."

Sephora turned her megawatt smile towards the first officer.

"Good morning, Sir," she said.

John briefly looked at the first officer, "Morning, sir.", then he turned back towards Sephora.

Syrrik noted the Captain was still getting himself sorted for the briefing. He looked back to the Ensgns. "So Ensigns since we are here and will be working together why don't you tell me about yourselves? How long have you been out of the academy? What commands did you transfer here from? That sort of thing.

"Sir, this is my second assignment," Sephora said, fidgeting excitedly. "I was previously assigned to the Diplomatic section at Starfleet Headquarters. I learned a lot, now I'm ready to go out into the galaxy and start applying what I've learned.

"I have to say sir, I'm really excited about this opportunity," she continued, her enthusiasm almost palpable. "To be part of the maiden voyage on Starfleet's premier Ambassador-class vessel is incredible! Not many people get to be part of history, and I'm going to do my best to make sure this chapter is a great one!"

She looked down and saw she had grabbed the first officer's hand in her excitement. Remembering Vulcans' dislike of physical contact, she jerked her hand away.

Ensign Koenig looked at Syrrik. "This is my third posting since graduating from the academy. I was first assigned to the Valiant, then transferred to the Morgan. I put in for this ship because of the mission, and the challenges." He looked at Sephora and wondered, 'Would I have the nerve to ask her to dinner?....or would she simply dismiss me?'

" My second posting here. She's a good ship even if i'm having to draw up new blueprints. " The Andorian engineer said from her seat.

Captain Rhodes looked around. "I think that's everyone we have at the moment, so let's begin."

John pulled out his padd and started taking notes.

The Captain activated a holoprojector embedded in the conference table. the image showed the Ambassador Class ship and zoomed breifly on the external upgrades. "First off, welcome aboard London. I'm so pleased to be able to embark on this journey with all of you."

John was already familiar with all the upgrades, both internal and external.

Cal stood and moved around the table. "I'm sure you've all been wondering about the assignment that we'll be undertaking with Task Force 11."

Syrrik looked at the schematic. He had studied it already both on his journey to the ship and since he had been aboard. However, he wanted to make sure he hadn't missed any last minute changes or details to the refit. He made notes on his PaDD as he looked back to the Captain. He already had something of an idea of what was going on. It would be interesting to see the reactions of the others.

"I have recieved our orders from Captain Devinona Ral of Task Force 11, we will be acting as the Federation's Diplomatic Flagship for the Force. Focusing primarily on bringing diplomatic resources to the region affected by the ongoing Gorn-Klingon conflict."

John made a note on his PADD. Bring diplomatic resources to the ongoing Gorn-Klingon conflict. He hoped that both the Gorn and the Klingons would honor the protection of a diplomatic mission because either side sometimes didn't.

Syrrik shook his head slightly. Letting out a slow breath his fingers swiftly begain typing on his PADD. "It's likely then we will need to keep tactical and security up to speed at all times. Considering who we are talking about...well neither of them have been known to adhere to any sort of law or protocol when it comes to non combatants. To them everyone is a combatant whether they wish to be or not."

"I'm not sure how up to date everyone is on the conflict," Calvin peererd around the table."What we're dealing with are mounting tensions with the Gorn Hegemony and the Klingon Empire." the projection flickered and showed a star made. The borders of the Empire and the Hegemony were highlighted. "There have been a number of small skirmishes along the borders. Victories have been pretty split, but they are becoming more and more frequent."

The Captain crossed his arms. "Command believes it is only a matter of time before the Empire reaches out for assistance officially."

He looked around again. "Now obviously, we don't want full out war. So that's where we come in. A neutral, diplomatic ferry and facilitator. Questions?"

When no one immediately answered, Calvin deactivated the holographic display. "The Federation Council's delegation will arrive Tomorrow evening. Myself and Commander Syrrik will be welcoming the delegation. Ambassador Waldorf has asked that the formal reception wait until we're underway so that preparations are kept on schedule."

"Does everyone have Mess Kit that is properly fitted?" The Human Captain asked, his face conveyed the seriousness of his inquiry.

Sephora's eyes went wide. She couldn't remember if she had packed it or not. A panic set in and she turned white as a sheet.

"Department heads will be responsible for ensuring all crew under them are appropriately kitted before we leave dock." He paused. "I cannot even begin to stress how important it is that this is seen to as soon as possible."

John's kit was secure in one of his closets. Truthfully, he hated it. The official dinners were mostly boring. But, for a mission like this, it was essential.

He smiled, now relieved he had said all he needed. "Now are there any questions?"

Since Koenig had nothing to say or ask, he kept silent.

Captain Rhodes looked around at his staff. "No?" He asked, as no one had raised any queries."Good then. Dismissed."

John rose from his chair and started towards the door. Seph was behind him, so he allowed her to exit first. "Ladies first."

Sephora smiled and exited. the other occupants followed close behind Seph and John.